Friday, May 16, 2014

Aboard the Boundless: Cornelius Van Horne

The General Manager of the CPR, Cornelius Van Horne’s job was to make
sure the railway got built, pushing it west to meet up with the tracks being
built into the mountains from Vancouver.

Van Horne's energy and drive were legendary. He joined survey teams and hefted a sixty pound pack through the wilds of the Rockies. No detail of the railway was too small for him to overlook. He had many and varied interests and hobbies, a restlessly curious mind; he slept very little.

Alas, he did not live to see his masterpiece, The Boundless, leave the station on its maiden voyage across the continent.

About Me

Kenneth Oppel is the author of numerous books for young readers. His award-winning Silverwing trilogy has sold over a million copies worldwide, and been adapted as an animated TV series and stage play. Airborn was winner of a Michael L Printz Honor Book Award, and the Canadian Governor General's Award for Children’s Literature; its sequel, Skybreaker, was a New York Times bestseller and was named Children’s Novel of the Year by the London Times. His novel Half Brother won both the Canadian Library Association's Children's Book of the Year Award as well as its Young Adult Award -- a first in the two awards' history. His latest book is THE NEST. Born on Vancouver Island, he has lived in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, England, Ireland, and now lives in Toronto with his wife and children. Visit him at www.kennethoppel.ca